Twisted Fates
by Chappy101
Summary: A cross over between the Ice Age and Avatar the Last Airbender. But since this is more strongly defined by Ice Age, I decided to just post it in the main archive. This story has already been posted in my DA account, but a friend {DiegoRedeemedLover} suggested I post it in , so here I am (: This is my first story ever posted here, so please be nice! Rating may change later...
1. Chapter 1

**Manny**

It wasn't easy being in hiding. But word had come out that there was a refugee somewhere, and that's where I'm headed. Only thing is, it's hard to go the opposite direction of your enemy without raising any suspicion. For you see, I'm a bender. An earth bender to be exact. My people haven't been heard of for what seems like decades, but that's not I'm worried about right now. It's the refugee camp that holds all sorts of benders that has me preoccupied at the moment. If I can get there before the snowfall, then I'll be safe from the Empire and the non-benders with their ongoing hate and jealousy of our power. But that's where I'm having trouble. I'm stuck in a moving crowd of people moving north, whereas I want to move south. And I think I already got the attention of a few.

"Hey, you stupid or something? We're heading _that_ way!" a small, plump man said. "If you ain't gonna move, then do us all a favor and move your dumbass outta the way!"

I could tell my eyes had turned to slits when I narrowed them. Even if you're a man who wears glasses, people could still get scared when you glare death at their direction. "It must take a lot of nerve to talk up to someone who's capable of squishing your fat head."

Obviously, I made my point. All these people were tired, nobody wants to waste any energy that's unnecessary, a fight would put this man to rest for good and get left behind and he's for sure not in good condition to quarrel with me.

He could see where I was going as well and took a step back. "Look, I don't want any trouble. I got my family to take care of, and you ain't gonna hurt a man with his wife and kids looking, are ya?"

I spared a glance at his family; a thin and tired-looking wife and three children who look like they can be broken in half with just a pull of their skinny arms. I winced. Even these people were having trouble to survive. The Empire didn't really favor peasants, either. My eyes were back at the man who looked like if he found any scrap of food he would have it all for himself. Greed and selfishness are just two things these people go through every day. "Should have considered that before you started getting your balls in a knot," I said, as I pushed my way past him and finally out of the crowd.

When I was sure the man wasn't looking at me anymore, I turned back around to give the wife a leather-clad flask that contained fresh water and a bag that held my lunch for the day: a loaf of bread, two small blocks of cheese, and some cooked fish. She took them with reluctance, but bowed and thanked me with tears in her cheeks. She hid them in her robe from the sight of her husband and got the youngest child by the hand and whispered down at his ear. The child then looked at me with round eyes and he bowed his head quickly in my direction, gratitude clearly in his smile. I made my way back to north.

I smirked as I heard the man speak again, this time to his family.

"You see kids? I put him in his place."

"Yeah," one of them commented. "You sure handled him…"

My lips cracked into a full smile as I heard the sarcasm, and the smack as the man hit his son at the back of his head. I could tell the impact didn't hurt, because the rest of them were giggling under their breathes.

* * *

I stopped to rest a bit after, a sigh escaping me that I didn't know I was holding. If those people found out about me being a bender, then it would have caused trouble. First of all, they would sell me. And I would be a slave to the Empire. Earth benders are known for their incredible strength and endurance under harsh treatment, so they would put me in the arena and fight to the death against other fellow benders for the entertainment of the Emperor and the Council. Secondly, earth benders were rare to find as we are possibly under the danger of extinction, or maybe we're near it. Thirdly, peasants would surely turn me in because the reward for any bender is worth two lives; earth benders being four. And lastly, the Empire would even accept me in pieces, and I'm sure that huge crowd could have done just that.

I cleared my head and took out a piece of paper from my fur bag and took a look at the location. I adjusted my glasses, the sunlight in my eyes. The refugee is far off and dangerous to get to, but there's a near village of kind gypsies nearby that act like hosts for my kind, such as traitors of the Empire (rebellious soldiers or the occasional young member of the Council), and rogues (benders that keep away from their own kind, such as myself). Gypsies are talented spirit speakers and travel around the world to give away fortunes. The village they reside in is their home, but most seek out for a taste of adventure when they sense a calling from their ancestors. When they're out in their charades, they mostly go by themselves or they join a small band of travelers. Telling other people their fortune seems to be their fate, they say, just as we all have one. I snort at that. If I knew I would be traveling to Hell knows where, then I –

I stopped my thoughts as I felt someone bump behind me. I turned around. "Hey!"

The small dark-haired male shook his head as he set his feet on the ground again, looked at me and then back. I heard running footsteps coming our way, and then before I knew it I was being used as a wall between the stranger and the attackers.

"Don't tell them I'm here!"

I raised an eyebrow. What could this guy possibly do to piss someone off so hard that they would chase him all around? But I shouldn't underestimate the poor guy; he might be a fellow bender who's being chased by desperate peasants. Or maybe he's one of the unlucky ones that get accused of being a bender, get sold to the Empire, and then spend some time there only to get beaten for "impersonating an enemy of the Emperor and his rule". Yes. It gets that bad around here. This is why I want to get out of this place. Too many innocents have been lost in the crossfire of this battle.

But how can I possibly go to the refugee camp if there's always something getting in my way? This guy is only going to distract me of my journey, and I don't want anything or anyone slowing me down. I don't have to protect him. I don't even know him. I was about to step aside and let the peasants do what they have to do (they have a life, too) until they came close enough that I could tell they weren't peasants at all. What the hell were merchants doing over here?

* * *

**Sid**

Just imagine my luck. It isn't every day you get abandoned by your family, step into some crap off the side of the street and then run into some merchants who are looking for some bait to sell. That _bait_ being _bender_. And I'm a one of kind bender; I can control anything that involves greenery. Plants, vines, even flowers. You name it. But I'm in the middle of the dessert right now, and anything that's close to a plant is a cactus or a dead tree. I've actually slept on one and it's really not that bad. The dead tree, I mean.

Anyway, I had awoken from my slumber and fell into some bad news. Literally. I fell off the tree when I woke up. When I got back up to awaken the rest of my family, I had realized they left without me. Typically, this leaves someone heartbroken. They did it every year. They try again and again to leave me behind, and I caught up to them when they thought they finally lost me. Of course, this would leave some of you wondering why I would keep going back to them even when it was clear they didn't want me. My answer is simple: they're family, and they're all I have. We're supposed to stick together, have each other's backs, protect one another.

I'm a "live life simple" kind of guy, so it didn't take me long to get back on my feet and go on my own way. I thought that I could find my family again, since I've done it so many times already. How big could the world be? Barely on the first step, I landed on some shit. Pardon my language, I usually don't mean to swear. But that was just despicable and nasty, speaking from a guy that rarely takes showers. I muttered to myself as I went on walking with my eyes glued to my unlucky foot, trying to scrape off the piece of dung. I walked and walked until my feet found themselves in some puddle. I thanked God and proceeded to clean my shoe. Just as I finished, I heard a loud _splat_ as someone plunked a pebble into the small circle of water. I looked up to see two big men, looking down at me with red-shot eyes. They looked like they were about to explode from the inside-out. It looked kind of funny, and with the crap off of my shoe I was in a better mood, so I giggled. Big mistake.

One of them stomped their foot. "What the hell is so funny? You just stepped on our drinking water!"

I glanced down at the puddle and quickly stepped out. Then I gave them a questioning look. "You drink from the ground? Isn't that a bit gross to you? Don't you have drinking water of your own?"

The other guy stepped up and clenched his fist. "Which was why we needed that puddle. We ran out of water!"

"Oh." I looked down at my feet again, and my brain finally clicked. "Oh! I'm terribly sorry, Misters! I didn't mean – Oh, I feel horrible!" I reached behind me and pulled out a flask filled with my water. "Here, you can have mine."

One reached out and took it, then opened it up to sniff the liquid inside. He wrinkled his nose. "What the hell is this? You take me for an idiot?"

My eyes widened. Wrong flask; the one I gave him contains healing water, from the purest waterfall in the world. It comes only rarely from that one waterfall and not many know of it, especially since the extinction of the water benders.

"N-No, sir. Here, take this one. It's clear water, I promise you."

The other man took the flask from his friend and also took a sniff. He didn't wrinkle his nose, but he did cap the flask and threw it back at me. "Are you a bender?"

Ah, shit. How haven't I seen this before? The matching tattoos on their upper forearms. The mark of merchants. "No, sir. I just keep this with me in case I get into trouble, you know what I mean?" I said, keeping my shaking legs secure.

They both looked at each other and sneered. "Bullshit," they said in unison, cracking their knuckles.

I started to back away.

"Who would have thought that a scrawny little guy like you could be a bender?"

"We'll give you a ten second start. Starting now…"

I ran.

* * *

And then I bumped into _him_. Tall, pensive, moody with glasses and brown hair. I didn't really realize I was leading the merchants onto a cliff, but they were already ganging up on me that I didn't care where I led them as long as I lost them. I turned back to see if they were still following me, because we've been running for a while now and I was starting to get tired, then I ran full speed into that man.

He turned around and scrutinized me. "Hey!"

Yep. Definitely moody. I really had no other choice, though, and used him for cover. "Don't tell them I'm here!"

He frowned and turned around to see the merchants arrive just in time. He was smart enough to notice the tattoos and immediately took a defensive stance. That was when I realized that I was behind a fellow bender. We all have different defense tactics when we get into a fight, and right now this guy was in an earth bending stance. I felt giddy inside as I thought myself safe from those men. An earth bender is kind and thoughtful to their fellow friends as well as strong and aggressive to their enemies when angered. I'm safe from those merchants for sure. Can you just imagine my luck!

"Move out of the way, pal! We found that bait first!"

The man in front of me didn't move. "I hate it when people turn out to be like you."

* * *

**Diego**

I think I prefer death than living the life of a bandit. But then again, as extinction for our race draws near (because of age, because of vowing to never have a sexual relationship with a female after Soto's wife was killed, and because of keeping to ourselves), we have gotten angry. We have gotten the lust for blood. No other race should go through extinction. Take the water benders for example.

Now, what I said before, to have lust for blood, I know that makes me seem like a hypocrite. I don't want extinction, and yet I want others dead. No, that's not it. We just want revenge. Revenge for our friends and family, loved ones that have been slaughtered, captured and tortured, on shorter notice: killed.

Our gang was bigger than what we have now: a simple group of five men, half of what we had before. They were first captured by soldiers of the Empire, it was an ambush; they knew who were the weakest, they somehow knew that the five of us would leave for some supplies, and they attacked. It was if they had been studying us from afar. They brought good weapons, good ones to deal with my people. Half of our clan, Soto's wife, our brethren, my father…. Gone.

Of course, that left the rest of us alone at our camp, feeling loss, grief, fear, and finally anger. Well, at least _one_ of us was truly angry. Soto, the new obvious choice for leader, had this sick idea of justice. He thinks we'll be able to rest in peace if we got back at them. _Them_ being the fucking _Empire_. That was a sign of suicide. What's more God awful is that he thinks it would be a good idea to kill off a baby. A God damn freaking _baby_ for Christ's sake! But, I'm not going to lie, it would be good to let off some steam, and I wasn't going to let Soto do this on his own. He was practically like a brother to me. He said so himself.

"You're more than just a good left hand, Diego. You're like a brother-in-arms to me. You're the only one I could trust. But that's obvious, isn't it? All we have now are those three idiots."

Oscar, Zeke, and Lenny. It was plain to see why Soto didn't trust Oscar for the role of lieutenant; he was snide at times and had a tendency to talk back to Soto and his demands. Zeke was a loose motherfucker who jumps right into the action as opposed to building a strategy before encountering the enemy. And Lenny, if it wasn't for the fact that he was past his weight to be fit for the life of a bandit, Soto could have easily just left him behind. But his big build seemed to work to our advantage at occasions, so he stayed alongside us. Soto didn't really trust Lenny much, but he still saw him as a member of the group, and this small gang of fire benders is all we have left, so we need as much horse power that we can get.

"My wife was taken, alongside your father. Are we really going to just let that past us without one fleeting touch of remorse? If we haven't left, if we have been more cautious, then this would have never happened. Their blood is practically on our hands! But I'm going to cleanse mine. What about you, Diego? Don't you feel the weight of your father's eyes upon you even as we speak?"

We were up ahead on one of the huge walls that surrounded the Empire, keeping them safe from any sort of attack. Except maybe a surprise attack...

"Now, look at what _they_ have," Soto spat venomously.

We spotted the Emperor with his wife and child, standing in the middle of a small garden, filled with luscious green grass, clear liquid water from the pond, and a tree with its spindly branches filled with cherry blossoms. The young child, who was probably on his eighteenth month since birth, was learning how to walk on his stubby legs. His mother put him down and the young one examined the ground first. When he spotted his father, he immediately started to giggle and moved his little hands forward, his smile showing his two front teeth, his fingers wiggling in impatience to be grabbed. He took two steps forward and then he started to sway dangerously off balance, but his father caught him just in time and lifted him up in the air, only to catch him again. The baby giggled some more and his father nuzzled their noses together affectionately, then he looked at his wife lovingly before they started to walk back to their palace.

I hated them at the moment. I hated the child. No, scratch that. I was _jealous_ of that kid. For having a father when mine has been dragged to his death under the Emperor's rule. I know it wasn't the kid's fault, I'm not an idiot. But the Emperor had everything, while our asses are dying on the other side. Not fair. I wanted justice.

"True, we are taking an innocent's life," Soto continued. "But he won't be the first that's been lost to this chaos."

But he will be the first innocent from the Empire's side. That's when I thought to myself, do I really want to do this? How will this free me from my father's somber gaze? It would only harden it.

"A simple sacrifice, Diego, that's all it takes. It makes perfect sense to me."

Finally, I spoke up. "Let's get this over with."

Soto chuckled. "Of course, and then our fellow friends will rest in peace. I'm glad to see that you're as anxious as I am, I don't think I'd be able to go through this without you. You never failed me, and after this, I'll return the favor. Anything you want, I'll give."

I know what I want, and it's nothing he'll give me just as simple as that. I want _out_. I don't want anything more to do with this. When this is over, I'm heading out on my own. I'll join the assassins or turn into a mercenary or something to get what I need to survive. Anything will be better than this; always on the run now that we're the few of our kind. It will be fucking obnoxious of us if we just stayed still and let them kill us once and for all, but I know that's not going to happen. I knew that Soto would never let me go. If I leave the gang, then the others will also want to disperse. Soto is too prideful to let that happen.

I gripped the hilt of one of my hunting sabers, and squeezed until I was sure my skin would split open. What have I ever done to get myself into this hot mess? This is some bullshit.


	2. Chapter 2

**Manny**

It didn't take long to defeat them; one swoop of the foot to unbalance their charge, a swing of the fist and they were both knocked out. The boulder-sized piece of earth hit them with uncanny force, it even made _me_flinch. Maybe I put a little too much effort into that bending technique. They were thrown down onto their backs, still as the unmoving ground beneath our feet, and the little guy beside me hooted out in victory (even though he didn't do anything worth shit).

"Woohoo!" He jumped in the air and turned to tackle me. "We sure showed them!"

"_We?_" I said with a rise of my eyebrow.

But before I could say more, the ground beneath me disappeared as I was thrown back by the surprising weight of the small man. We slid down the cliff with no problem, besides the fact that I was used as a cushion to lighten the stranger's fall. He ended up on top of me, and all he did was look up and smile at me, without a touch of remorse or embarrassment.

"Such pretty eyes you have."

I growled. "Get out of my face."

I shoved him off of me and stood back up, patting the dirt off my clothes as I walked along. I frowned in annoyance as I heard the stranger follow me, his steps irregular and hurried, as he had smaller legs that tried to keep pace with my longer strides.

"Hey, wait a minute there! You just saved my life, and now I am entirely indebted to you. Therefore, I shall follow you, where ever you go, and do all that you please me to do."

"It would please me if you left me alone," I said. "Besides, you only want me to keep protecting you from those merchants. Once they spot a bender, they never stop chasing until they capture them. Everybody knows that."

The little man huffed. "Fine, if traveling by yourself is what you want..."

He turned back to walk away, but the merchants had already woken up and they glared at us from the top of the cliff. They yelled and cursed, they even shouted promises that when (or if) they capture the smaller bender they would behead him before taking him to the Empire.

The dark-haired man chuckled nervously as he walked back toward me. "But who ever wants to travel alone nowadays? It's much more better if you have company."

"I like my solitude. Now go away."

"Aw, come on, man! _Oops_. That's not the proper way of speaking to your savior. You have a name? Mine's Sid."

I sighed, knowing this Sid guy isn't going to leave me alone even if I begged. "Manfred."

Sid frowned. "Manfred? Don't you have a nickname that people gave you? Like Freddy, or Man, or Manny, or..."

I stopped walking and glared at him, he squealed as he climbed up a small, thin tree with surprising speed. But I grabbed a branch, ordered the earth to bend the tree, and I narrowed my eyes to stare into Sid's.

"Stop following me."

I let go of the branch and the tree sort of catapulted back into its previous position. Sid shook his head to get rid of the dizziness before following me again.

"Okay, I get it. You're the quiet type. Don't worry, you won't hear a peep from me. I always seem to blabber on, but unless you've got a joke then I'll shut up for sure."

I was starting to get a migraine.

* * *

**Diego**

I was sharpening my saber with the other one while the others got prepared for the attack. Well, I wasn't really sharpening them; I just wanted to look busy, like I was doing something that would keep me preoccupied for a while so the others wouldn't speak to me. I wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone at the moment. But no one was really talking either.

I watched as Oscar corrected Zeke's position for a complicated fire bending technique. Zeke wasn't much of a bender, while Soto and I are the only ones who can summon fire from the ether, Zeke, Oscar and Lenny need to have a fire already prepared for them; that's one reason why they carry torches. Oscar shows the potential of creating his own flames, the problem is that he's too stubborn to ask for my help, or even any advice from Soto. Zeke's problem is his habit of being out of control, which is why we keep him from learning how to properly fire bend; if he loses his temper, he could harm us or possibly burn himself to death. And Lenny... Let's just say he's a little on the lazy side.

I scoffed as Oscar had his footing wrong, causing Zeke to stumble when he performed the technique. I would have stood up and helped them out, but seeing as Oscar will get offended (maybe claim that I think he can't properly train a younger bender) I stayed where I was. I kept watching them train, criticizing every move they made without really thinking; it was in my blood, these techniques, even the ones that weren't created yet, the ones that I make up on my own. I guess that's another reason why Soto wanted me as his second in command; even if I was young to play lieutenant, I was experienced enough to take over a whole army of fire benders.

I soon got bored of watching Zeke mess up, so I created my own small burst of flame on the tip of my index finger and I started to play around with it on my hand. I felt another presence near me and I saw Lenny at the corner of my vision, watching me with those wonder-filled eyes; he was one that can be easily impressed. I ignored his stares as I continued rolling the ball of flame on the palm of my hand, I made it swirl between my fingers, I let it travel to the other hand and even made it go up toward my arm. I let it extinguish near my elbow as I heard Soto's footsteps come toward me. One look from him and I knew it was time, so I got up with uncertainty and dread already forming in the pit of my stomach.

"Ready?" Soto asked me, and I nodded.

Soto motioned to the others and they followed as well.

It was dawn, the sun barely rising over the horizon. We had camped near the walls of the Emperor's palace, so we didn't have much time to waste as we walked. The walls surround and protects the palace and their nobles, outside of the walls are a collection of villages. We had dressed for the occasion: simple cloaks to cover our suits, bandanas and scarves to cover our faces, and I was given a hoodie to cover up my head; we didn't want to be spotted, our clothes could easily give us away, especially our hair: all fire benders have a ginger hair color or an orange-brown, but I was cursed with bright orange hair that stands out from a crowd, and I was always teased about it (the other kids were smart enough to leave me well enough alone about it, or else they would have lost more than their dignity). My father, however, liked to brag that my hair symbolized an eminence in me, that I would be the strongest, most greatest fire bender ever. Of course, that theory was yet to be proven.

We were there before I knew it, and I looked up at the great structures of cement that were built to protect the Empire from intruders; an easy barrier to climb over for Soto and I, but it was no easy task for Oscar, Zeke and Lenny. Before, Soto and I had burst up in the air with the help of our flames and landed at the top of the walls, but that was just to observe the area and strategize our surprise attack carefully. The others were waiting at the bottom, on the look-out. But now, all of us are going to have to get up. Of course, Soto had already thought about this. The leader is always a step ahead.

Oscar readied his belt, then tightened the one on Zeke. Lenny had already pressed the button on his belt, and two hooks tied to ropes shot up and attached themselves at the very top. Oscar and Zeke followed suit and started to climb ahead of us, while Soto and I waited to see if anyone would spot us. Once they were halfway up, Soto and I protruded from the ground. We caught up with the others easily, then we started using our sabers to climb up slowly and quietly. When we finally reached the top, Oscar, Zeke and Lenny took off their belts and left them behind.

The idea was that we divide the areas we had to go through, so we ran along the edge of the wall; since it was the shape of a circle, and it was super wide, we took a while to get to our designated areas and signal to each other that we were ready. When we were, we grasped our sabers and used them to slide down the wall so we can reach the bottom. At this point, I'm doubting that the guards around here are even doing their job. Seriously, is it really that hard to keep watch at your station? They're making this too easy.

I was on the southeast side, and I had already spotted a few lazy guards drinking and taking a piss on some tree. The reason why we had separated and traveled through the streets on our own is to take down the defenses farther from the palace, that way we could easily escape once we have the kid. The houses of the guards and soldiers were all mixed up along with the enslaved benders in the front, the palace is near the end and its gardens are in the way back, where it leads to a huge waterfall that could also be used as an exit, but its height, we decided, was too much of a risk. We all should have made good progress and meet up again, when we have the kid, people would have already noticed and we would have to run for it toward the big gates. Soto and I had tested the wood material and we were surprised to find out that the product could so easily burn.

I snorted in disgust when I finally got to see the conditions that the Empire put the benders through. I really thought the barbarian days were over, but this just showed me how wrong I was. I spotted several air benders and the ones that can control plant life (which I think is a total useless thing to have) in small buildings built over each other, the only entrance being the cage doors in the front. I growled as I saw a guard get too close to a young-looking woman and jabbed her harshly with the end of a branch he picked up from the ground. A little boy, probably her son, grabbed at the stick but the guard easily threw him to the ground. When I heard the boy cry, I knew I wouldn't be able to maintain my anger.

This wasn't part of the plan, but I wasn't going to stand by and do nothing; I wasn't able to save my own kind, but maybe I can help out these people. So I burst out of the shadows and threw a saber into the back of one guard and pounced on another before giving him a lethal punch to the face; that's two down, four more to go. I jumped in the air to perform a flying kick to one shocked guard, and then a hook kick to another. And since the last one was already prepared for me, I decided to go for the long shot and try to surprise him. By surprise I mean run toward him, which will give him a moment to hesitate, and then butterfly kick him to the face. Which is exactly what happened.

When I was done, I went to the guard who I hit with the saber and detached the blade from his back. I wiped away the blood from the cloak as I walked toward the caged benders, who were looking at me with fear. I couldn't help but smirk as I saw the young ones gawk at me with astonishment and curiosity.

"Hey, calm down," I whispered to them. "I'm on your side." I slid my bandana off, which was covering the bottom half of my face, and then I uncovered my head.

Once they saw my hair, they instantly calmed down: fire benders are known for their strong passion and protection of others, even if we sometimes think of only looking out for ourselves, we make sure that other fellow benders don't take the worst of fates.

"Fire bender," they chanted softly. There were others speaking among themselves. I heard things such as: "Such bright hair," and: "He's hot!"

I covered myself up again as I shushed them. "I'll get you out of here, just stay quiet and give me a few minutes."

I picked at the locks, which took too long, so I melted the bars of a few and roundhouse kicked the rest of the locks. If you haven't really noticed yet, I kick a lot. Reason is, I have a slight built. I'm not saying I'm skinny, I mean, I'm fine for my height. I'm just lithe and quick on my feet, and my legs are the most powerful part of my body, so I use them a lot.

Once they were all free, they gathered around me and thanked me multiple of times. I put my hands up to get some distance; I'm not the type of guy that gets emotional easily, so I don't know how to deal with people who are in verge of tears, either in joy or pain. But I also wanted them to shush to so I could speak over them without any interruptions.

"Listen," I urged. "You can't stay here now. I need you all to rely on each other and get to the very front, where the gates are. Don't do anything until I get back with my companions."

"There are others?" One of them spoke up. "You've come to save us, then."

"Not exactly. By the way, have any of you seen a group of fire benders?"

A young boy came up to me, the one who tried to protect his mother. "I think I spotted them. They were led to the palace right away. And there was this old dude with the same bright hair as you." It didn't take long for him to put two and two together. "Was that your dad?"

I nodded. "Yeah. But if you said that they were led right to the palace..."

Fire benders, in the eyes of the Empire and the Council, are considered useless. The way they thought of it is: Why keep people who can bend fire when we can already create our own? But I had a feeling it was much more than that. They were probably afraid that we would attack and overrun them, which is stupid because a fire bender can be as peaceful as any other bender. That's what happened to the water benders; the Empire thought their numbers were too great, and, fearing that there would be a war they would lose to, they exterminated them, one by one.

One of the elders patted my shoulder gently. "I'm sorry, son."

I shook my head. "No, it's fine. I expected as much. You all go ahead now. I created a clean path for you, just follow my footsteps, all the guards have been taken out in those areas. And be careful."

"To you, as well," they all seemed to say. They bowed their heads in respect before finally leaving.

The elder that patted my shoulder stayed behind for a quick second to say to me, "Revenge isn't the way, young one. This path will surely lead you to the same as your father's."

I crossed my arms. "No offense, sir, but I'm not a child." Taken, I should heed his warning, since he's old and all; he's considered a blessing to have lived this long, and he's probably a sage. But still, it's like no one would take me seriously just because I'm young. Hey, I've seen a lot since my birth, so I should gain some sort of honorary medal.

The senior grinned knowingly. "Alright, young man. You sure seem to know what you want."

I paused as I watched him go. And a quick thought darted to my head – _Is this what _I_ want?_ – before I shook away my musings.

The elder finally left with the others, a couple of them had waited for him, and I sighed as I climbed up another building, deciding to travel by rooftops. I can't be freeing everyone in this place, I would be losing precious time. The others are probably more ahead of me. Then again, Lenny does tend to stop for a snack time every now and then, Zeke has to settle for an itch or to take a leak, Oscar would complain about aching feet or something, and Soto... Well, nothing can really stop that guy, so I would have to hurry to at least be at the palace entrance at the same time as him.

I was already starting to pant and I cursed at myself. I would also be losing precious energy if I try to free every trapped bender in this place. No, I'll have to go on without anymore distractions. I'm sure I can come back and save them later. That is, if I can convince Soto as much. Not all fire benders like to help others, and Soto is one of those. Right now, the only thing in his agenda is revenge. And not even if we cross paths with the last kind of the water benders will get in his way.

* * *

I thanked God as I made it just in time. Soto was on the other side of the building, and we waited as the others caught on. We moved toward the tall stairs that would lead to the main entrance of the palace, and we waited until somebody would notice us. They did. And dozens of soldiers ran to surround us, pointing the sharp end of their swords to our unshielded silhouettes. We kept our cool as they approached closer, our robes flapping in the wind and the click of their armor the only sound as they inspected us.

"State your business," one of them barked.

I glanced at Soto but he kept his eyes upon the doors of the palace, and when he glanced my way the only thing he did was tilt his head toward the entrance. I nodded as I stepped forward. One of the soldiers lifted his spear at me, the tip almost touching my chin.

"Don't move!" they ordered.

I heard Oscar scoff as he also took a step forward.

Another man grabbed a hold of Oscar's elbow. "Are you deaf? We said don't – "

A blast of fire connected with his unprotected frame and he screamed in agony. I turned to see Soto with his robes now in his glowing fist, the tatters withering into black ash.

"Move," he finished, and the action began.

Oscar, Zeke and Lenny followed Soto's example of uncovering their true profiles.

"Fire benders!" they shouted in alarm, and more armed men ran our way.

Soto created a ring of fire around us, including the soldiers, and I jumped in the air to get away from the incoming fight (a.k.a "the distraction"). I ran up the stairs with ease and made it to the top without any interruptions. I slipped through the doors quietly, just in case there would be more of the Emperor's men waiting inside. When I was satisfied that there wasn't any, I kept moving forward.

The obvious choice for a prince's chambers to be is in the highest level of the palace, why that is I'll never know. The halls were long and led to what seemed like an infinite of spaces, it could have been dark if not for the lit torches hanging on the walls. I climbed up more stairs, burst into empty rooms, flew up several flights, crashed into even more empty rooms, and I even went out a window to jump to another spire when I finished with this side of the palace.

When I glanced outside to see how Soto and the others were doing, I spotted the Emperor himself and some members of the Council join in the fight. Soto personally made his way toward the Emperor, and even I was surprised at his ferocity. His will and stubbornness will surely become legend at some point.

I slowed down as I came across a room whose door was slightly open. I took a peek and opened the door slightly, making it creak as I stepped in. Sure enough, there was a crib inside close to an open window. I made my way to the crib and I saw a tuft of dark hair sticking out of rolls of blankets. I couldn't help but smile as I reached toward the kid – _Could it really be this easy?_ – but then another pair of arms shot out and snatched him away before I could even touch him. I turned to see the mother of the child clutching her baby to her chest, her eyes staring unyieldingly into mine.

I sighed as I shook my head. _Things just got complicated_. "Ma`am, I don't want any trouble."

"Oh, no?" she snapped, sparing an arm to reach for a nearby torch. "Stealing a child from their own home isn't asking for trouble?!"

I was astounded by her reply, but she did have a point. Still, I rather the kid than my freedom. It was now or never. I wasn't planning on hurting the woman, it was obvious she was scared, more for the baby than for herself. I took one step forward and she panicked as she swung the torch.

I lifted an index finger and made a no-no motion with it, as if I was scolding her. "You shouldn't play with fire, your Majesty."

I snapped my fingers and the fire extinguished, leaving us with only the light from outside for us to see around the room. I took another step forward confidently, but I misjudged the mother's natural instinct to protect her baby and she swung the torch again, this time hitting me squarely in the face. I hissed as the embers stung my cheek and scattered across my face toward my hand-covered eyes. The woman used this chance to escape, and I shook my head to clear my vision before running after her.

I was shocked at just how much this woman can keep running, she even made it all the way down to the garden. Soto and the others must have all the soldiers preoccupied out at the front, since we didn't come across anyone else. Anyway, the woman slowed down and stopped to look back to see if I was still following. Of course I was. Who does she think I am that I can't keep up with a girl in a dress while carrying a baby?

"Your Majesty, I'm giving you a chance to hand over the kid without any violence. I promise I'll even call off my companions so they won't hurt anyone else, or possibly kill your husband."

She narrowed her eyes. "Liar. All you benders are the same!"

I tapped the toes of my shoes on the ground nonchalantly. "Alright, suit yourself. But don't say I didn't warn you."

I sprinted toward her without hesitation and she barely dodged as I tried to snatch away the kid from her arms, all I got was a piece of string with weird-looking beads on it. Again, I had underestimated her. I growled in frustration as I threw the string and its weird accessories to the ground, and when I looked at her direction she was already running away again.

We had reached the back of the gardens, and the woman finally had to stop at the edge of the waterfall. She turned back to run to another direction, but I had blocked her only way out. I smirked as I took my time to get to her now, seeing as there was no options left open for her. But it seemed that there was _one_, because she had glanced down at her baby with sorrow and hope, then she looked at me with such determination it even made me stop walking. When she hugged her baby close and jumped down the cliff, I'm pretty sure my mouth dropped to the ground with shock. I ran forward to see if she was hanging on to something, but I only saw rapid flowing waters springing down to the very bottom. I bit my bottom lip before I decided to go back.

_Great. This is just damn great! How the hell am I supposed to explain this to Soto?_

When I had arrived to the front of the palace, I came across a scene of knocked-out soldiers and a still-fighting Emperor. When Soto saw me, he ordered the others to retreat and we ran for it. We made it all the way to the gates, soldiers and Councilmen and the Emperor following right behind us. Soto and I created huge balls of fire at the palms of our hands and made it jet to the gates, making it crumble faster than we had anticipated, and we were already outside, running and running with the benders that I had rescued, with the Emperor's men left behind when they decided to give up.

Soto ordered us to stop, and he looked at the group of benders in confusion. When he glanced at me and saw that I didn't have the kid with me, his confusion turned to clarity.

"Diego," he said slowly, which made me shiver. "Where's the baby?"

I didn't even look down at my feet as I answered, even if I really wanted to just bolt from there and never be seen again. "I lost him at the waterfall."

Soto seemed to be holding some words back, because he his whole arms were shaking and his hands were clenched into fists. "You _lost_ him?" He glanced at the benders who were still around us, but they were simply minding their own business as they checked up on others. "But you managed to free these people?"

At that moment, I felt insulted. Couldn't I get some credit? "I wasn't going to just leave them behind. You didn't see how they were being treated, Soto. They were – "

"I don't care," he stated plainly. "I wouldn't care even if they were about to be executed, thrown to the pits or left in the wild only to be chased or hunted down again by the Empire for simple game." He looked around, then when he was sure nobody was listening, he leaned toward me and whispered, "I wouldn't care if they were already dead and only one remained. We look after ourselves now, Diego. If you haven't noticed, the Empire made it clear that there would be no benders left at the end of the year."

I grimaced. _Couldn't say it any clearer, could you?_

Soto stepped back and gave me my space again, seeing as how he made his point. He let Oscar, Zeke and Lenny check up with the others and heal their wounds while they're at it. When the group of benders decided that they would be going now, they bid me farewell and I waved at them halfheartedly. I spotted the elder that had consulted me and he smiled before I lost sight of him within the moving crowd. Not to sound rude, but that guy creeped me out. I don't know why, he just did. I guess it's just a child's way of looking at elderly people, and I guess I still had that perspective. When they were out of sight, Soto confronted me again.

"I want that baby, Diego."

I nodded. "You'll have him."

He growled. "I better. Or else, _you'll_ be the replacement."

I blinked in surprise, but other than that, I showed no reaction. He would go as far as to kill one of his own men? He was obsessed over vengeance for sure.

Soto turned to the others. "We'll split up from here, and we'll meet up at Half Peak." He turned back to glare at me. "And you better have the child by then."

He charged to one direction, leading Zeke and Lenny. Oscar stayed put to smirk at me.

"Think you can manage on your own, Diego?"

I growled at him and simple small flames formed on my fists. Soto called back to Oscar and he finally left me behind. I waited for a moment before I began to march ahead. There should be another _safer_ way to get to where that waterfall led to...


	3. Chapter 3

**So sorry for the short break! I was trying to pick up more inspiration for this. **

**As you can see, and if you haven't already noticed, I don't go all out from the movie. I change their dialogue sometimes because I simply can't remember what they said exactly. Hey, I'm not perfect.**

**Anyway, thanks for the wait. I'll make sure that I try to publish more works for this piece of literature at least... Once a week, every few weeks? Maybe...? IDK, OK I'M TRYING.**

**Thank you for reading, and reviews are appreciated! :)**

* * *

**Sid**

One could say that they only speak a lot when they're bored, even if that said person is really shy. Well, I'm far from shy and I talk a lot, whether I'm bored or not. (Heh, that rhymed...) At this moment, however, I was bored out of my mind. Manny wasn't much of a talkative person, nor did he seem to have an adequate personality (whatever that means, I heard it from somewhere and I thought it sounded fancy). I was the one talking nonstop, but it wasn't my fault he didn't join in the conversation. I knew he was listening since we were the only ones on this road, and he had that kind of expression every one has when I speak; the really annoyed kind. He occasionally voiced his opinions, and from what I picked up from him is that he's very thoughtful. Of course, it's always the quiet ones who end up having the most to say, they just keep it to themselves.

I was currently nibbling on a fruit, a snack that all plant benders should have with them at all times, and I was still speaking even with a full mouth. Manny wasn't saying anything, only keeping his eyes on the road ahead. He stopped trying to get me to leave him alone a while ago; I can be very persuasive, and that persuasion included begging on my knees to not leave me alone to my doom. Hey, if you're being chased by a couple of merchants with a taste for money by exchanging your head on a silver platter then I'm sure you would be hugging anyone's legs for help.

Now, what was I talking about again? Oh, yeah! An old girlfriend. I was just talking about how this girl claimed that I didn't have any respect for her, that if I was chasing girls then they should at least be in the same league as me.

"Then I told her, 'Don't look at me with those eyes'," I said, biting one last piece of my fruit before throwing it away.

Manny looked back at me with the corner of his vision. "Listen, if you're in a relationship, then you should be taking it seriously and show your girlfriend some respect, that's what most young women want from a man. And if you're not mature enough to handle that sort of thing, then you shouldn't seek out a relationship in the first place." He turned back around to look ahead. "Now, for the last time, would you leave me alone?"

I ignored his last comment and responded to his first one. "Hey, it's not _my_ fault the girl hates the player and not the game." I spit out the remaining seeds in my mouth and wiped away the juice on my cheeks. "In fact, it came by that with another girl, I—_Oof!_" I bumped into Manny's back and I looked up at him in confusion. Why has he stopped? "Manny?" I asked, then I made my way to see what was wrong when he didn't answer. I stopped on my tracks, however, when I saw a lady laying in the river. I gasped. "Is she alright?"

"Best not to find out," Manny said lowly, as if the woman was already dead. "From the looks of her, she's someone of the high-ranking family."

I frowned. "That shouldn't matter! She's probably still alive, she might need our help!"

Just then, the woman looked up and her eyes widened at the sight of us. She grunted as she lifted her arm, and a sack was now in our view. The lady was breathing heavily, as if the bundle was too heavy for her, or if she was too tired to move. She spread out her arm and got the sack to dry land, then her hand fell as she gave up and the bundle began to slide back down. Manny moved faster than me and caught the sack before it touched the water. The woman locked eyes with him, he nodded reassuringly, and she smiled with satisfactory before laying her head back down, her breathing slowing down.

Manny observed at what he saved, spun it, and we both backed up a little as we saw the face of a child. The baby looked up at us as we stared down at him, he yawned and smiled innocently, his eyes wide and sparking with curiosity. Manny and I looked back up to see if the woman was still alive, but when we did, she was no longer there. I checked further downstream, but the mysterious lady was nowhere in sight.

"She disappeared," I whispered, almost to myself. I heard Manny groan behind me and he turned the other way to leave. "Umm, aren't you forgetting something?" I asked, motioning to the baby.

"No," came the quick answer.

"But you just saw what happened!"

"I could care less."

"Well, you shouldn't just leave him here!" I bent down to grab the child. I hesitated for a moment, remembering that I've never done this sort of thing before, even when I had my own little brother to care after. I finally picked up the baby and lifted him to my chest, surprised at how quickly the kid had warmed up to me, as he didn't cry when a complete stranger lifted him. I surveyed the area and found the base of a waterfall with smoke rising from the very top. I pointed to it. "Hey, this kid's village is probably up there! We should return him."

Manny turned back around and narrowed his eyes at me. "You really _are_ an idiot, aren't you? Don't you know where we are right now?"

"Umm..."

He sighed. "Don't answer. I'll tell you." He pointed to where the smoke was. "Up there is the Empire." His index finger traveled down and rested on the child in my arms. "That kid is from there. His mother was from there, too. You saw how she was dressed, that blanket around the kid looks super valuable, so they _must_ be from a high-ranking family." He then pointed to himself. "I'm not going to risk my life or my time to try to get that kid back to his father, who's probably really pissed right now. Something serious must have happened for that lady to jump off a waterfall. And I'm not willing to find out."

"But we—"

"No buts. And there is _definitely _no 'we'. If you want to kill yourself just because you feel sorry for the little guy, then be my guest. But let me tell you something, when that kid is all grown up and he finds a child who can bend, then I'll bet my life's worth that he would turn it in to the Empire to chop him into little pieces. And speaking of life, if it wasn't for me, _you_ wouldn't even be alive right now!"

I backed up from him a little as his voice raised. I gazed back up at the waterfall longingly. It just felt really wrong leaving a kid out in the open like this, defenseless and lonely. I know how that feels. I don't want it to happen to anybody else.

"Just at the top of the waterfall?" I tried again to persuade him.

He sighed. "Pay attention to what I'm saying. _I'm not going_."

I huffed, knowing I wasn't going to change his mind. "Fine, I'll do it myself." I turned to walk toward the bottom of the cliff, where there was some rocks that could serve as some sort of ladder to the top. I gazed down at the baby and played with his bottom lip with my finger, like how I've seen my mother do it with by brother. "We don't need him, right?" I told the kid.

Manny scoffed. "Yeah, I'd like to see you try taking care of someone when you can barely take care of yourself." He followed me with an amused expression. "This I've got to see."

* * *

**Diego**

And as just as I thought my luck had run out, I find the baby in the hands of two strange travelers. I arrived near the other side of the river from where they were, undetected at the moment, just in time to see one of the strange men trying to climb up the cliff rock along with the baby in his hands.

_Is he an idiot?_

My question was soon answered as I watched him trying to climb, not too successfully, to reach the top. He scrambled ungracefully up to an inch above where his head should be, his foot slipped and he hanged on with one hand while the other made way for the baby so he wouldn't bash into the rocks. Nonetheless, after the man regained his breath, he kept going.

_Yup, he's an idiot._

Still, I give him credit for his effort. Someone give this man a golden star saying, 'You tried'. Anyway, I kept watching, entertained, until the poor guy finally decided to give up and go back down. He looked up to the cliff edge and huffed, then he stomped his foot. And from where his foot made contact with the ground, a huge vine-like plant thing started to grow from under him and took the man and the baby up as it kept growing. I rubbed my eyes to check if what I saw was really happening... Yeah, it's happening.

_Okay, so I'm up against a plant bender. And what about that other guy? Also a plant bender?_

Suddenly, while the man was still looking up, the silk blanket around the baby was unraveling itself. I widened my eyes as the plant bender didn't notice, only until the baby almost fell out of his hands. He just barely caught the kid; with a swipe of his foot, an extra vine popped out of the ground to wrap itself around the baby and hold it. The baby was too heavy for the spindly plant, and it bent to an angle where the baby would probably start to fall again.

"Manny!" the scrawny bender screamed for help to his fellow companion.

I reacted before I could think. When the kid was slipping from the vine's hold, I catapulted myself into the air with bursts of flames, jumping over the river and toward the baby when he was already free-falling. I arrived with great speed, and I made sure to extinguish the flames before I touched the kid, and I performed a front flip in mid-air to land on my feet. I turned around to make a run for it, but the earth below me started to shake and I became unbalanced. My hold on the kid became loose, and then he was taken from me before I could get a better grip on him. My eyes fell on the other man known as Manny, who was now carrying the child with him, and I narrowed my eyes as my fists generated balls of flames. The man before me snorted before he also raised a fist, but a boulder nearby shot itself into the air and then it dropped not two steps away from me. I instantly backed down.

_An earth bender? Haven't come up with one in a long time._

This wasn't looking so good for me. Two or three fire benders against a single earth bender, sure we can handle it. But a one on one? Forget it. At least, that's what the books say. They haven't been wrong so far, and I'm not one to question and test that theory out. Only one thing for me to do; compromise. I straightened myself out, let the fires go out, and cleared my throat before I spoke.

"Umm, the little one is mine."

_'Umm'? Seriously? Yeah, sounds real professional._ I mentally smacked myself on the head.

"Actually," the other bender responded, coming down from his vine, "the little one is ours."

I raised an eyebrow, amusement lifting, and I bet it was obvious in my eyes. "_Ours?_ And which one of you is the mother?" I teased.

Manny put down his fist and the child. "Who said I was with him?"

"Of course," I added, "two men can't have children without adoption."

The earth bender frowned. "Oh, it is _so_ not like that!"

_ This isn't going anywhere. Time to step it up._ "Please," I said, risking a step toward them. "Give me the child. I'm planning on taking him back to his family."

"Well," Manny said, motioning to the moving river, "you just missed the mother."

I widened my eyes. _The mother is gone?_ I told myself it was inevitable to what would have happened to her. She wouldn't give up the kid willingly, it's better this way. _Is it?_ I shook my head. Of course it is. Save my conscience from being tormented by the screams of a protective mother. As if my conscience were that clean... (Far from it, my friends.)

"What is it?" Manny said, interrupting my thoughts.

I was able to use that moment as a show of concern. Seemed to have worked. "Nothing. It's just that... That woman." I shrugged, my hand reaching for the saber sheathed on my hip, tightening my grip on it. "She was a good mother." I looked to where the river kept flowing its large amounts of water, and I could only imagine what little strength remained in that woman's body before she finally let go of her child. My gaze fell back to the two travelers. "So, if you give the baby to me, I'll be able to return him to his father."

The plant bender finally came down from his vine and the vine died back down under the ground. He picked up the kid, lifting the baby close to his chest. "Yeah, I don't think so. What would a fire bender want with a baby? That comes from the Empire more specifically. No offense, but fire benders aren't really that..._trustful_ nowadays."

I felt my cheeks warm up with anger. I stepped forward again, challenging the stupid, smelly male before me. Stupid because he was, like, two-to-three inches taller than me. And smelly because, just being honest here, he _stinks_.

"Calling me a liar?"

He stumbled back a bit, probably surprised at my ferocity. "I didn't say that!"

I growled lowly as a warning. "You were thinking it."

The plant bender leaned back to whisper to his non-companion. "I don't like this guy's type. I think he's aggressive."

I felt my anger fade away, but annoyance took its place as I obviously heard what the stinky male said. I looked back to the other bender. "I'm Diego, by the way."

The tall brown-haired male nodded. "Manfred."

I was able to hide the sudden quirk in my lips from lifting into a full smile. Sorry, it's just that the name seems funny for some reason.

The skinny dark-haired male made his way next to the earth bender, the kid bouncing in his arms. "And I'm Sid!"

I nodded. _Okay, time for the real business._ "If you were trying to get to the kid's home, you would already be too late to get there. They left this dawn."

"Thanks for the advice," Manny—now _Manfred_—said. "You can leave now." He turned to Sid. "Alright, we'll return the kid back to his place. But _promise me_ you'll leave me alone by then."

"Okay, okay," Sid said, hastily.

They started to walk away, and I was left there looking at them in disbelief. What just happened? It seemed obvious to me that the earth bender wanted nothing to do with the kid, so why would he go ahead anyway? He probably didn't trust me either. I expected as much. Well, I think I can work with this. I just have to try harder. I need to follow them and somehow convince them to give the child to me.

I kept on staring as the pair continued to argue.

"Why do you seem to grumpy? Seriously, what's your problem?"

"_You're_ my problem."

"Nah. I think you're just moody because you have a little extra weight for an earth bender."

"I am _not_ fat. It's this fur coat... Makes me look poofy."

All the while the kid was looking back at me, his dark-brown eyes wide and pink little mouth open agape, his two front teeth in view. I was surprised when he lifted a hand at me, like he was trying to reach for me. But then Sid moved him, and he was out of my view.

A low growl formed in my throat in frustration. _I need that kid. I need that kid_, that verse repeated itself in my head. _I'll be dead. I'll be dead_. That verse was also unavoidable. I walked to the other direction from where they were going, heading to the place I came from. _I'll be killed by the only family I have left_, I thought to myself, and then I smiled bitterly. _I would earn that death. I basically took away that kid's mom. What did he do to deserve the loss of his mother? Sure, his father technically killed mine, but it's not like he could control that. _I hate this shit-filled ironic life that I live in.


End file.
